Larry Agran's grip on Irvine politics crumbles

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IRVINE Political icon Larry Agran on Tuesday lost his bid for the Irvine mayor's seat – as well as the Democratic majority that he and his allies have held on Irvine City Council for the past 12 years.

Councilman Steven Choi defeated Councilman Agran 45.5 percent to 40.8 percent, according to unofficial results from Orange County Registrar of Voters. Agran will remain on the council to finish two more years of his current four-year council term.

In Irvine's City Council race, Agran ally Beth Krom earned re-election as the top vote-getter with 26,083 in a field of six candidates vying for two open seats.

Choi ally and former councilwoman Christina Shea won the second open council seat with 24,658 votes.

Agran ally PK Wong fell short in his bid to win a council seat, coming in in fourth place.

Once sworn in, Choi and Shea will join Councilman Jeff Lalloway to form a coalition. The mayor's seat is one of the five seats that make up Irvine City Council.

Victor Huynh, 45, said he voted for Choi for mayor because he liked his focus on business development to help fund education in the event that the state cuts support for schools.

The new majority doesn't plan to make any major changes in the overall direction of Irvine, which is already a highly successfully city by most accounts, Choi and Lalloway said. They will continue the city's historically strong support for its police force and its public education system, they said.

The visible differences will be seen in less wasteful spending, more transparent governing processes and more success at building Orange County Great Park, they said.

Why did they win?

“The previous council majority ignored the minority and decided to do whatever they wanted,” Lalloway said. “Irvine voters soured on that. Balance is critical in governing.”

“We look forward to working with Larry and Beth, and we certainly want to cooperate with them in governing this city,” Lalloway said.

The Irvine council race is technically nonpartisan, but the Democratic Party of Orange County endorsed and supported Agran, Krom and Wong, while the Orange County Republican Party endorsed and supported Choi, Shea and Lynn Schott.

Agran is not accustomed to losing. He has served as an Irvine mayor or councilman for 26 years in a 40-year-old city, with a gap in the 1990s after he ran for U.S. president.

Agran could not be reached for comment, but Krom said she is grateful for voters' support and is proud of the work she and Agran have done in the past 12 years.

“The city is in great shape” she said.

She will happily work with the new majority, she said, but issued some advice:

“If it isn't broken, they shouldn't try to fix it,” she said.

The third vote in Agran's former Democratic coalition was Mayor Sukhee Kang, whose term is ending. Kang did not run in the Irvine election; he ran for Congress against Rep. John Campbell but lost.

A third candidate in the Irvine mayor's race, Woodbridge Village Association board member Katherine Daigle, received about 13.7 percent of the vote.

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